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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

This morning dawned cold - around 15° - with a windchill below zero...

This afternoon, it DID warm up nicely, though - to just above freezing.

I figured that around noonish was a good time to fill the stock tank and other tanks I have for critter waterers. There I were, figuring out what hose went where, and getting them hooked up. I had drained them last week before the snow, and had them ready to go, except hooking them up. All of a sudden some movement caught my eye.

I looked up and saw at least 8 deer marching up the fence row on the north side of our property. They were right across the fence from our cows, and 60 feet from the barn. I quietly called Deb on my cell phone, and asked her to bring my camera out to the front door.

I snuck out of the barn, and headed for the house - all the while hoping that I'd get a photo of the deer trouping by the barnyard.

It was a mere 3-4 minutes when I returned, camera in hand to find the deer still standing along the fence, talking to a couple of goats. I raised my camera, flexed my finger, started to pull the trigger on a photo when IT happened....

In the split second before my finger hit the button, I was drawn away by one of our goats jumping INTO the stock tank! It was our all red, young Boer Billy. He immediately went under - TOTALLY submerged. His head came up and he was standing in ice cold water half way up his back.

I couldn't believe my eyes! I shut the camera off, then headed to the rescue. Between, getting through the barn, curious goats who wouldn't get out of the way, ice, and snow drifts, it was probably a good 4-5 minutes before I got to him, and a bit more before I got him out of the tank.

I brought him out, set him on the ground (snow) and he was cold enough already, that he couldn't walk. I collected him up and got him into the barn. I got him dried off and in a stall with deep hay/straw, but it didn't seem to be enough. After calling Deb's dad, we decided to bring him into the house to warm him up.

I went to get him, while Deb ran his bath water......

I can remember having baby pigs in the oven when I was a kid, but we never had a goat in the bath tub....

I picked him up, and hoisted him over the edge, He STARTED to put up a fight when he realized that he was getting wet again, but settled in REAL quick when he felt how nice and warm it was.....

Our two Dachshunds wanted to be involved, too. For a minute, or two, we thought they were going to jump in with him, but they managed to stay dry.

At any rate, we got him nice and warmed up, then dried off again. He even knelt down in front of a heat vent for a bit. We decided that he will spend the night on the back porch - just to make SURE he is dry and recovered. He's in our utility room right now, eating - and drinking Colloidal Silver water.

He stood, wrapped up in a blanket for awhile, then decided to explore a bit. We decided that the crisis was over for now, so headed into the kitchen to give me a hair cut - or a "trim around the sides" - as it were....

Deb was zipping along, cutting hair like nobodies business, when she gave the clippers a funny look. She cut a few seconds more, then said - "These clippers are making a funny HUMMING sound". Just as she shut the trimmers off, we heard the mysterious "humming" sound - it was coming from the goat in the other room. If you ask her, Deb will tell you that the clippers WERE making a funny noise..... The only thing I have to go on is my eyewitness account of the incident, and the fact that she was laughing so hard she couldn't see.

THAT ended the hair cutting for the day....NO WAY was I letting a hysterically laughing barber near MY head with sharp objects..... I'm just glad we were almost done, and I didn't end up with a "Reverse Mohawk" or something...

I guess the whole thing boils down to upholding my reputation as a Hillbilly....

Like they say - "You just MIGHT be a Redneck Hillbilly if -

"You give a goat a bath in your own bath tub"

Taking a shower together would be a WHOLE 'nuther meaning, however.....

Oh wow, found your blog from AllThingsGoat. They sure can get themselves into trouble can't they? We just had a buckling break his leg while jumping a fence. You just never know what they are going to do sometimes! Glad your buckling is going to be OK, I sure do like the red Boers.